The effect of eight weeks of core stability exercises on lumbar lordosis, pregnancy back pain, functional disability and quality of life of nulliparous women

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of core stability exercises on lumbar lordosis angle, pain, functional disability and quality of life of nulliparous women.

The current research is semi-experimental. The research sample consisted of 32 nulliparous women who were randomly divided into 2 groups of 16 people for core stability exercises and control. In the pre-test phase, pain, lumbar lordosis angle, functional disability and quality of life of the subjects were measured respectively by Quebec back pain questionnaire, flexible ruler, Oswestry functional disability questionnaire and SF36 health questionnaire. After completing the pre-test phase, the subjects of the training group started doing core stability exercises. The exercises were done in 8 weeks, three sessions a week and 45 and 60 minutes per session. After the completion of exercises, all the measurements of the pre-test stage were done again in the post-test stage. Two-way analysis of variance was used to compare inter-group and intra-group differences.

The results of the research showed that the variables of pain, quality of life and functional disability of subjects improved significantly after 8 weeks of core stability exercises (P≤0.05); While there was no significant change in the lumbar lordosis angle of any of the control and training groups after 8 weeks (P≥0.05).

Core stability exercises by creating lumbo-pelvic-hip stability improves back pain, increases the functional capacities of the body and improves the quality of a person's life. However, it is better to use this training method along with other corrective exercises in order to correct the complication of lumbar lordosis in pregnant mothers.